Morphological characteristics of an introduced threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, from Hasse Lake, Alberta: a first occurrence in the interior plains of North America

1987 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph S. Nelson ◽  
Margaret A. Harris
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
First Occurrence

Comparison of the fast-start performances of closely related, morphologically distinct threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus spp.)

1996 ◽  
Vol 199 (12) ◽  
pp. 2595-2604 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Law ◽  
R Blake
Keyword(s):  
Angular Velocity ◽  
High Speed ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Biomechanical Study ◽  
Maximum Acceleration ◽  
Fast Start

Fast-start escape performances for two species of threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus spp., were investigated using high-speed cinematography (400 Hz). The two fishes (not yet formally described, referred to here as benthic and limnetic) inhabit different niches within Paxton Lake, British Columbia, Canada, and are recent, morphologically distinct species. All escape responses observed for both species were double-bend C-type fast-starts. There were no significant differences between the species for any linear or angular parameter (pooled averages, both species: duration 0.048 s, distance 0.033 m, maximum velocity 1.10 m s-1, maximum acceleration 137 m s-2, maximum horizontal angular velocity 473.6 rad s-1 and maximum overall angular velocity 511.1 rad s-1). Benthics and limnetics have the greatest added mass (Ma) at 0.3 and 0.6 body lengths, respectively. The maximum Ma does not include the fins for benthics, but for limnetics the dorsal and anal fins contribute greatly to the maximum Ma. The deep, posteriorly placed fins of limnetics enable them to have a fast-start performance equivalent to that of the deeper-bodied benthics. Both the limnetic and benthic fishes have significantly higher escape fast-start velocities than their ancestral form, the anadromous threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus, suggesting that the high performance of the Paxton Lake sticklebacks is an evolutionarily derived trait. In this biomechanical study of functional morphology, we demonstrate that similar high fast-start performance can be achieved by different suites of morphological characteristics and suggest that predation might be the selective force for the high escape performance in these two fishes.

Meristic variation in the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., in eastern Canadian waters

1973 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 547-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. T. Garside ◽  
T. Hamor
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
North America ◽  
Species Complex ◽  
Vertebral Column ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Meristic Variation ◽  
La Madeleine ◽  
Lateral Plates

Samples of threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., collected from several areas of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and single sites from Iles de la Madeleine, Quebec, and eastern Lake Ontario, were analyzed for variation in numbers of anterior lateral plates and vertebrae. Counts of vertebrae varied from 28 to 35 and mean counts from 30.3 to 33.4, without being related to any obvious geographic gradients. Trunk and caudal segments of the vertebral column had about the same degree of variation. Counts of lateral plates exclusive of ossicles of the caudal keel ranged from 0 to 31 with a range of means from 1.6 to 24.7. Incomplete development of potential plate number and absence of caudal keels were observed in 1st-year individuals. These results are discussed in relation to information about this species complex from populations of Pacific North America and Europe.

Polymorphism for plate morphs in Gasterosteus aculeatus on the east coast of Canada and an hypothesis for their global distribution

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1032-1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Hagen ◽  
G. E. E. Moodie
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Prince Edward Island ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Global Distribution ◽  
High Frequencies ◽  
Virtual Absence ◽  
Associated Variable

In the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) three plate morphs, controlled by major genes, are easily distinguished: the low-plated, partially plated, and completely plated morphs. We give the results of a geographic survey for these morphs, with 177 samples from New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and adjacent regions. The low-plated morph is virtually absent. Most sites are either monomorphic for the completely plated morph or polymorphic with high frequencies of that morph. Polymorphic sites are most frequent in fresh water where the frequency of partials is much higher. Polymorphic sites are also more than twice as frequent on Prince Edward Island than on the mainland. But sites with high frequencies of the partial morph, with one exception, occur only on the mainland. Populations with high frequencies of partials predominate in lakes and their tributaries near the sea. Hybridization between the low-plated leiurus and completely plated trachurus cannot account for most of the polymorphism in North America. The global distribution of plate morphs shows an association with climate, and the virtual absence of the low-plated morph in this survey can be accounted for by the action of climatic selection or an associated variable.

Parasites of the Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in Newfoundland and Labrador

1970 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 901-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Hanek ◽  
William Threlfall
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
New Records ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
New Host ◽  
Parasitic Copepods ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
New Host Records

Fifteen genera of helminths (19 species) and two genera of parasitic copepods (2 species) were recovered from 375 threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758) taken in 10 sampling areas in Newfoundland and Labrador during 1968 and 1969. Two new host records and two new records for North America are included.

Male aggression and colour in divergent populations of the threespine stickleback: experiments with animations

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 1727-1733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. McKinnon ◽  
J. D. McPhail
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Agonistic Behaviour ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Colour Discrimination ◽  
Male Aggression ◽  
Nuptial Coloration ◽  
Negative Findings

We investigated the evolution of male agonistic behaviour and nuptial coloration in populations of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, with either monomorphic red or monomorphic black coloration. Specifically, we examined the responses of males from the two population types to computer-generated animations of males with black, red, or dull grey throats on otherwise identically coloured bodies. Males varied greatly in their aggressive responses among individuals and among trials, and did not show statistically significant discrimination towards the differently coloured animations. These results, therefore, do not suggest a role for interactions among males in the evolution of divergent male nuptial coloration. In addition, these negative findings are consistent with other studies of stickleback from western North America, suggesting that geographic variation in agonistic colour discrimination may account, in part, for the discrepancies between the results of earlier studies. Given the diverse methods of studies on this topic, however, methodological differences may also have contributed to the inconsistent results.

scholarly journals Diversity and sexual dimorphism in the head lateral line system in North Sea populations of threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus (Teleostei: Gasterosteidae)

Zoomorphology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Ahnelt ◽  
David Ramler ◽  
Maria Ø. Madsen ◽  
Lasse F. Jensen ◽  
Sonja Windhager
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Lateral Line ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Sensory System ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Line System ◽  
Marine Population ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks

AbstractThe mechanosensory lateral line of fishes is a flow sensing system and supports a number of behaviors, e.g. prey detection, schooling or position holding in water currents. Differences in the neuromast pattern of this sensory system reflect adaptation to divergent ecological constraints. The threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is known for its ecological plasticity resulting in three major ecotypes, a marine type, a migrating anadromous type and a resident freshwater type. We provide the first comparative study of the pattern of the head lateral line system of North Sea populations representing these three ecotypes including a brackish spawning population. We found no distinct difference in the pattern of the head lateral line system between the three ecotypes but significant differences in neuromast numbers. The anadromous and the brackish populations had distinctly less neuromasts than their freshwater and marine conspecifics. This difference in neuromast number between marine and anadromous threespine stickleback points to differences in swimming behavior. We also found sexual dimorphism in neuromast number with males having more neuromasts than females in the anadromous, brackish and the freshwater populations. But no such dimorphism occurred in the marine population. Our results suggest that the head lateral line of the three ecotypes is under divergent hydrodynamic constraints. Additionally, sexual dimorphism points to divergent niche partitioning of males and females in the anadromous and freshwater but not in the marine populations. Our findings imply careful sampling as an important prerequisite to discern especially between anadromous and marine threespine sticklebacks.

Seasonal changes in carotenoid and lipid storage by threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus

2013 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Black ◽  
R. J. Scott ◽  
M. A. Bernards
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Lipid Storage

Responses of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus, L) transcriptome to hypoxia

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 370-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Leveelahti ◽  
P. Leskinen ◽  
E.H. Leder ◽  
W. Waser ◽  
M. Nikinmaa
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Threespine Stickleback

scholarly journals Heritability of DNA methylation in threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 217 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juntao Hu ◽  
Sara J S Wuitchik ◽  
Tegan N Barry ◽  
Heather A Jamniczky ◽  
Sean M Rogers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Genetic Architecture ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Additive Genetic Variance ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Phenotypic Change ◽  
Cpg Sites ◽  
Cis And Trans ◽  
Methylation Variation

Abstract Epigenetic mechanisms underlying phenotypic change are hypothesized to contribute to population persistence and adaptation in the face of environmental change. To date, few studies have explored the heritability of intergenerationally stable methylation levels in natural populations, and little is known about the relative contribution of cis- and trans-regulatory changes to methylation variation. Here, we explore the heritability of DNA methylation, and conduct methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTLs) analysis to investigate the genetic architecture underlying methylation variation between marine and freshwater ecotypes of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). We quantitatively measured genome-wide DNA methylation in fin tissue using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing of F1 and F2 crosses, and their marine and freshwater source populations. We identified cytosines (CpG sites) that exhibited stable methylation levels across generations. We found that additive genetic variance explained an average of 24–35% of the methylation variance, with a number of CpG sites possibly autonomous from genetic control. We also detected both cis- and trans-meQTLs, with only trans-meQTLs overlapping with previously identified genomic regions of high differentiation between marine and freshwater ecotypes. Finally, we identified the genetic architecture underlying two key CpG sites that were differentially methylated between ecotypes. These findings demonstrate a potential role for DNA methylation in facilitating adaptation to divergent environments and improve our understanding of the heritable basis of population epigenomic variation.

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